Italy: Siena, etc.-Rome. Miles. Raffaello, some curious Mosaic, and busts of all the Popes. 160 39 The country through which you afterwards pass is hilly, and is strewed with old towns, where you will find good accommodations, although both the country and inhabitants are very poor, cultivation being much neglected. Traveller, thou approachest Rome! If thou hast a grain of enthusiasm, unbar the floodgates of thy feelings and thy memory,— whelming thy former littleness of conception in the grandeur that awaits thee. Rome bursts upon thy view! ImperialRepublican-fallen Rome; fallen, yet not shorn either of dignity or respect. Where Cæsar once trod, there wilt thou tread. Where Cicero once spoke, there wilt thou speak. Where once the masters of the world ruled in magnificent despotism, thou wilt now behold- -but enough-behold and form thine own conclusions. I am but a guide, and yet, forsooth, must soliloquize and lecture. Pardon, gentle reader, and on. The Porto del Populo ushers you into Rome through the magnificent Piazza del Populo, where you can choose of three streets, di Ripetta, del Babbuino, del Corso, which shall have the honor of leading you to further wonders. To attempt to describe Rome in this Itinerary would be absurd, and I can only refer you to "Vasi's Rome," which will give you a .... complete description of it, and point out the best mode of seeing the lions. You may live here very reasonably. A bed at the Hotel, Il Gran Vascello, in the Strada del Condotti, near which the English reside, costs 1s. 6d. per night. Dinner, à la carte, at the great Restaurateur leading out of the same street, 2s. 6d. including wine. Breakfast at a Coffee-House, 1fr. This you will find very comfortable. At dinner you meet excellent society, of every country, as all the artists dine in a great room where there is a table for each country. From them yon will meet with much attention, and derive useful information. At the Hotel Gran Bretagne, English is spoken. Sig. Cicognani, is the American Consul at Rome. Allow no preconceived notions to inter- Italy: Rome-Naples. Miles the topmost peak of delight. Raffaello's Loggies and the Sistine Chapel will speak for themselves in the mighty accents of the mightiest genius. Visit the Coliseum by moonlight, and afterwards say, if you can, that you are no poet. Splendid Palazzi cluster in heaps. Villas circumvent you with choicest treasures-triumphal arches and columns rear their stately forms at every step, and splendid churches vie with each other in almost every street. Reader! I envy thee thy future or present delight. 41 "Discordant relics of each fleeting age That gild yet stain Rome's proud yet humble Where monarchs, heroes, legislators breathed, That breathe a majesty which ne'er can die." Awake-Rome seems a dream-yet your dreams can scarcely equal it. As there is no diligence from Rome to 160 Naples, you must go by Vetturino, the charge for which is about 4d. per mile, which includes bed and supper, finding yourself breakfast. The journey is made in four days and a half. Whenever you engage your place, always stipulate for a front seat; and by all means reduce your bar - Francesco di Paolo &c. &c. &c. Campo Santo Royal Palace Palace of Capo di Monte Palazzo Vecchio University · del Uovo Nuovo Piazza di Palaz zo Reale Theatre St. Carlo - St. Ferdinando CASERTA. POZZUOLI. Grotto of Pausilippo Lake Lucrino Virgil's Tomb ISLAND OF CAPRI PESTUM, POMPEII, gain to writing. The back part of these carriages, in general, is disagreeable; and if the drivers tell you there are no others, do not go, id est, say you will not. The entrance into the noble city of Naples from the top of the hill is strikingly beautiful— the magnificent bay spreading before you. The Hotel de Russie is in a good situation. The Museum will repay the traveller's fatigue in perambulating its halls. It abounds in reliques from Herculaneum and Pompeii, as well as paintings and sculptures. However, for the principal objects in Naples, I must once more refer you to "Vasi's Naples." The Royal Palace of Caserta, 16 miles from Naples, deserves notice, but of that anon. Miles. Engage a carriage at Naples to take you 28 to Pozzuoli and wait your return. See the grotto of Pausilippo and the Cathedral, formerly a pagan temple consecrated to Augustus. Take a boat to Lake Lucrino, the Sibyl's Baths, Lake Avernus, Elysian Fields, Baia, and the Amphitheatre to Pozzuoli and on you return, visit Virgil's Tomb-a pilgrimage of taste and sentiment-which may be performed in one day, and will form a basis for the reflection of years. Another day take a boat with four men to the Island of Capri, the den of Tiberius; thence to Sorrento, where you must dismiss your boat, and engage a carriage HERCULANEUM, back to NAPLES CASERTA. Aqueduct Palace CAPUA Italy: Excursions from Naples. 150 Miles to go to Pæstum, Pompeii, and Mount MOLA DI GAETA. Cicero's Villa Bay of Gaeta. 43 In returning from Naples, hire a carriage to go round by Caserta to Capua, a circuit of about eight miles, by which you are enabled to see the greatest Aqueduct in Italy, it being many miles in extent. The magnificent and immense Palace of Caserta is rich in costly marbles, and possesses a beautiful chapel. The gardens and groves are well laid out. 170 Sleep at Capua, and take up the Vetturino which comes from Rome, (in which you must previously engage your seat.) It arrives about ten in the morning. It generally reaches Mola di Gaeta early, and rests for the night. There is an excellent Hotel close to the sea, and most enchanting views. The remains of Cicero's Villa and Garden, the latter filled with oranges, figs, and peaches, in the natural ground,― the hills covered with olives and bay trees, encompassed by a background of stupendous mountains, with the Bay of Gaeta before you, to explore which properly you must hire a boat. There is a steam-packet from Naples to Palermo, during the summer. |